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The results of the poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press are not surprising. Americans are legitimately frustrated with the lack of action on immigration reform at the national level. As with other attempts by states to take on this serious problem, most voters also agree that measures like these won't solve the problem, but do send a message that something needs to be done.

But the price of Arizona sending this message is too high. This effort will not fix our broken immigration system, and at the same time, will add to an already chaotic system where the rights and values that Americans hold dear are at risk of being trampled.

Arizona’s new law is not the answer. SB 1070 gives law enforcement license to stop citizens and noncitizens to check their immigration status based simply on “reasonable suspicion” that individuals are in the country without proper documentation. The law opens the door to the indiscriminate use of racial profiling and comes at a high cost to Arizona taxpayers. It also subjects local governments and their personnel to lawsuits by any citizen who feels that the new law is not being enforced sufficiently.

This is a watershed moment for our country as other states consider legislation similar to Arizona’s law. Will Congress and the administration continue to waive their responsibility to fix our nation’s broken immigration system? Now, more than ever, our country needs leadership.

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